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Game of Thrones: Archer's Ordinary Life
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"News?"
Hakimi's prompt wasn't hidden from the others.
So everyone, already having a headache from the string of bad news, turned to look at Luca in unison, fearing his AI would drop an even bigger bombshell right after he just unloaded a pile of grim intel.
Unfortunately, Murphy's Law remained as annoying as ever.
When Luca pulled out a small holographic projector and let Hakimi connect to play the news...
Although Hakimi thoughtfully sped up the playback of the earlier parts, no one could feel happy about this thoughtfulness.
Fox News, the news station with the widest coverage in the US, was broadcasting from its studio.
At this moment, the studio looked less like a news broadcast and more like a major press conference. And the representative speaking was none other than a member of the Avengers, a figure familiar to the entire United States.
Captain America, Steve Rogers!
Thanks to his identity as a core Avenger, decades of propaganda as a WWII hero, multiple participations in saving civilians during major events, and his constant activity on the front lines against rebellions in the past six months...
Steve Rogers was more than just a household name. As the symbol of the American spirit, his reputation across the US had reached its peak.
You could argue that out of personal preference, many ordinary people might like or envy other heroes in the Avengers more.
But if you had to pick the one most respected and trusted by the common people, there was no choice other than Captain America.
Now that Steve was suddenly holding such a solemn press conference for the first time, whatever he had to say would inevitably attract the public's attention and scrutiny.
However, everyone present knew without thinking that the Steve appearing on the news right now must be a fake played by a Skrull.
So, what the hell do these bastards want to do using Cap's identity?!!
This thought appeared in everyone's mind simultaneously.
But the next moment, the Steve on the screen spoke.
"My fellow citizens, I stand here today with a heavy heart. The capital, Washington D.C., is in ruins. The glory of New York has vanished in smoke. The secession of states continues. The economy has collapsed, and people are displaced."
"At this moment, I must tell you all that the United States of America we love has reached an unprecedented moment of crisis!"
"However, the spirit of freedom will not dissipate. America's faith will not collapse, blah blah blah..."
Watching the Steve on screen spouting a bunch of passionate nonsense in a familiar tone, everyone in the safe house looked at each other.
Especially since Hakimi was speeding up the video, making Steve look particularly glitchy and comical.
"What are these Skrulls trying to do? Run for president?"
Dr. Banner, looking dazed, scratched his head and asked uncertainly.
But as soon as he said this, the video suddenly returned to normal speed, and the fake Captain America, after babbling nonsense for a while, changed the topic.
"In this time of peril, someone must step forward!"
"Starting today, I will unite S.H.I.E.L.D. and various state governments to form a Provisional Coalition Government, dedicated to restoring the economy and order."
"In this crisis, we must clench our fists and concentrate our strength to secure true, lasting democracy and freedom, and make America great again!"
As soon as Steve finished speaking in the video, the screen switched to declarations of support from various states.
This included high-ranking figures like governors, state legislators, supreme court justices, and military leaders, as well as footage of large numbers of ordinary citizens waving flags and cheering on the streets.
If one counted carefully, out of the fifty states, nearly forty were issuing statements of support simultaneously.
In an instant, everyone in the room felt a chill run down their spines.
Although they had anticipated the Skrull infiltration, when the reality was presented right before their eyes, they couldn't help but feel fear.
"Why... why Cap..."
Harry stammered, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he knew it was a stupid question.
The enemy was clearly leveraging Steve's reputation and the communication channels they controlled to seize the initiative preemptively.
Perhaps the Skrulls hadn't originally planned to expose themselves so early.
But after Harry and Dr. Otto accidentally stumbled upon their covert operations, and the attempt to capture Luca failed completely, these green goblins chose the most brutal solution.
Given the rotten state of the US right now, never mind if Luca and the few who knew the truth had a voice equal to theirs...
Even if they exposed the Skrulls' existence, how many people would believe them?
Going a step further, even if they punctured the lie, what could they change?
Would they have to kill everyone supporting the provisional government one by one?
How many of them were oblivious fools, merely deceived by the Skrulls and following the crowd?
Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of it.
When the camera cut back to Steve, he said a few polite words before changing the subject again.
As he spoke, his face even showed expressions of remorse and regret.
"However, some disasters are natural, but others are man-made! Sometimes, comrades who fought alongside us betray their mission!!"
The video switched again.
This time, the content displayed was Tony Stark's independent laboratory.
Most of the footage showed Tony researching some kind of spatial teleportation device—more precisely, researching the Hell Gate.
Strangely, it wasn't just Tony. The footage occasionally flashed scenes of Luca, Banner, and Dr. Otto researching with Tony.
Saying Luca and Tony researched the Hell Gate together was barely passable.
But back then, they were always in the Aurantius Group's lab; footage couldn't have leaked. Moreover, Banner and Otto had nothing to do with it.
The most obvious point was that only Tony appeared in the same frame as the Hell Gate. In other shots, it was just the four of them in a lab, pretending to discuss things.
Clearly, this was a fake video created by Skrulls using their shapeshifting abilities combined with Tony's experimental records.
However, coming from the mouth of the fake Captain America, it became:
"That's right! The destruction of New York was a tragedy caused precisely by the research of Stark and Aurantius!!"